ARC Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab

Step into a universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and multiple Londons.
Kell is one of the last Travelers — magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city.
There’s Grey London, dirty and boring without any magic, and with one mad king – George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered – and where Kell was raised alongside Rhys Maresh, the roguish heir to a flourishing empire. White London – a place where people fight to control magic and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, ambassador of the Maresh empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpse of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, then finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

First Sentence: Kell wore a very peculiar coat.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher and author in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.My Review:

Before I got my hands on a A Darker Shade of Magic, I would have sold my soul to get the book in my hands. Vicious was one of my favorite books of 2013 and I just knew that A Darker Shade of Magic would also be one of my top favorite books of 2015 too – obviously. Add that gorgeous cover into the mix and I also automatically knew that A Darker Shade of Magic would get at least a four star rating from me – and I was right. A Darker Shade of Magic is definitely one of my favorite books of 2015.

The first seventy-three pages or so of A Darker Shade of Magic was filled with world-building and slowly introduced us to the characters’ background. We steadily learn more about the different Londons Kell can go to, the background of those Londons, and how they came to be the way they currently are. After the first seventy-three pages or so, Schwab continues to slowly give us more information about the world-building here and there throughout the book, but not as much as before.

…but she’d made a decision not to use the magic again, not unless she had no other choice. It took too much, and did so with the quiet cunning of a thief. No, if there were another way in, she’d find it. (283)

The characters in A Darker Shade of Magic were well-written and full of personality. Kell was steady and daring while Lila was rash, yet she slowly grows on you as you read on. However, I do have a minor issue with one particular character in A Darker Shade of Magic, specifically Rhy. Rhy is portrayed as a guy that everyone can’t help but love and the beloved prince of Red London. However, I feel like I barely got to even know Rhy – he played such a minor part in the book in my opinion. What little parts he played didn’t make him “beloved,” in my eyes, but more like “annoying” and a little bit too playful for my taste. Hopefully that’ll change in the sequel.

Let’s not forget about all the feels A Darker Shade of Magic bought out of me. While reading A Darker Shade of Magic, you could either find me being totally engrossed in the book, panicking like crazy, crying out “my feeeeeeeeeeeeels!”, or going on twitter and typing up a tweet about WHAT IS HAPPENING, only to delete it before tweeting it out. A Darker Shade of Magic pretty much crushed my feels. I wanted to read on to know WHAT WILL HAPPEN and also not want to read on at the same time because I just couldn’t handle all of the feels! You’ll get exactly what I mean once you read A Darker Shade of Magic yourself. By the way, that’s also a strong hint for you to read it asap so we can talk about it. So, yeah, go on, read it. -waves you away-

Overall, WHERE IS THE SEQUEL. I NEEEEED IT. I have theories about what will happen next and hopefully I am proven wrong because I like it when authors manage to catch me off guard, which is not often. As for you, I demand you go out and snag yourself a copy of A Darker Shade of Magic. It is everything you could ever want in a book, trust me.

Speak Your Mind

A Darker Shade of Magic has been on my list of to read books and it sounds fascinating and now with your review I have to get this book read and hopefully I will be astonished by Kell and her travels between the different Londons. The story sounds like it will be very good and if it has a sequel I am sure that Ms Schwab will do a good job, I found her book Viscous to be one of my favourites and am looking forward to many more books by her :D

I absolutely loved this book! I have to disagree with you about Rhy, I actually really liked him. I found that even though he didn’t have much airtime in the book, his personality did pack a punch, especially when Kell is thinking about him and the things that they used to do growing up. I saw a lot more of Rhy though Kell’s eyes and that made him appealing to me. Cannot wait for the sequel as well! Loved this book to pieces!!!!Courtney recently posted…Stacking the Shelves (33)

I actually still haven’t read anything by VE Schwab, but this book has been getting some great reviews from those who’ve managed to snag an early copy. I’m definitely intrigued and really want to pick this one up now! Great review :)

you had me at feeeellllsssss! Kelly! i am so excited to get my copy on this or even get the chance to win a copy of this one. GREAT review! i have been looking for this post….and i am really glad it lived up to your high expectations :)

I’ve only read the Archived by Victoria Schwab which I wasn’t a huge fan of, but I’ve seen really good things about this one and Vicious so hopefully I’ll be able to try those soon and see what I think.Katherine recently posted…#LoveAThon: One Can Only Quote

This book sounds fascinating and it’s set in London- one of my favourite places! – so I can’t wait to read this. Your review just makes me want to read it even more! :)Smitha recently posted…Book Review: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Yess :D I’m so glad you loved this book Kelly. <3 I think it sounds amazing. And yay for you thinking it was so :D I'm just waiting for my copy to arrive. <3 So curious about this one. And I want to love it so badly. Sigh. Fingers crossed. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. <3Carina Olsen recently posted…Cover Reveal: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Would it be upsetting if I admitted to having not read a single book by V.E. Schwab? I hear all kinds of great things about them and how amazing they are, but I haven’t managed to snag a copy for myself yet. So yeah, I’m kind of lost in the crowd of V.E. Schwab fans. I’m probably that one loner all the way at the back by myself while everyone is screaming in excitement. Kind of sad huh? Hopefully I can read Vicious and A Darker Shade of Magic soon. I’m glad you loved this book btw! n_n

I’m reading this now and I’m loving it! I completely agree that the first 70 pages are mainly just background information. I’m only on about page 100 and I can definitely feel the story picking up. Also, I’m happy to hear that Lila grows on you because I’m not connecting too much with her so far.

I didn’t realize that this was a series! For some reason I thought that it was a standalone like Vicious. I can’t wait for all the feels to start!Sajda recently posted…Introducing Bookish Vogue!

I want to read this so badly!! I’m glad to hear that Lila grows on you. I wish Rhys was in it more though I liked him in the sample. Now I’m curious about the sequel. I hope there isn’t too much left dangling.Molly Mortensen recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Book Related Problems I Have

I’m reading this right now! I’m about 140 pages in, and was really hoping for more of Rhy but it’s kind of disappointing to hear he’s not in very much. He seems like he’s got something going on under that wild, carefree, playboy exterior.

This sounds like a good start to a series. I love the way authors build up their worlds. We learn so much in the first book. I haven’t read anything by VE Schwab yet. I think I’m delaying because I will love her writing that everything else will get thrown out the window.

Have you read Un Lun Dun? It sounds like it could be the YA / Children’s version of this book. Its super easy to read & I loved it.Shar @ Sharlene Says recently posted…Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts – #4

I need to read this! And Vicious! I loved her Archived series, so these books are definitely on my radar. Parallel universes though? Awesome! I’m usually wary of books with heavy world building, but I’m willing to try, because this one promises to be amazing. Great review!

Seeing everyone’s reviews of this makes me want to read it so much more!

I’m also excited to see that you got super into it when you were reading. Personally, I highly value any book that can get me emotional, or that keeps me asking questions (while still revealing some answers so I’m not totally lost).

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Effortlessly Reading sometimes receives ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) from publishers or authors in exchange for honest reviews. Please note that no compensation of any kind has been provided in exchange for a review. Any use and/or duplication of my material without any permission is strictly prohibited.